


The Unknown Routes

by Elyssian



Category: Kagerou Project
Genre: Drabble, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-01
Updated: 2015-08-15
Packaged: 2018-03-20 17:45:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 4,968
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3659409
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Elyssian/pseuds/Elyssian
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>(Moved from Fanfiction.net)<br/>Kagepro Drabbles, some written pre-anime. Some angst, some light, some suggest that I am attempting to squish your heart. Mostly oneshots, mostly “other timelines” stories. Might take prompts?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Guilty

* * *

 

Shintaro remembered that the day after he first saw him, he wondered if he was an omen.

He can't remember much, only that they were in his classroom, its sunset, the windows are wide open and of course, a mirror image of himself across him, dressed in a black pullover and solemnly staring at him.

_Crap my doppelgänger is here to murder me._

It's a small thought that somehow manages to flit through his minds constant screams of _'oh god Ayano, why, why, why?'_

After that, his dreams are haunted by that exact same scenery, but this he only ever sees his doppelgänger at the edge of his sight. When he turns in an attempt to catch the black figure, he wakes up.

* * *

 

The next time he catches the full figure of his doppelgänger- oh hell he needs a name for this guy. He's just going to call him 01. It's the anniversary of Ayano's death (he refuses to call it suicide because _there's no way she would have done that_ ) and after a whole day of just staring at the ceiling wondering why his chest still clenches up he closes his eyes and just nods off.

He doesn't notice it's a dream, heck who ever does, and panics because the hands at his throat hurts, the tears that falling on his face are warm and his ears are being assaulted with a voice.

**_“Why did you let her die?”_ **

He registers the fact that he is on his back, judging from the coldness of the floor and that fact he's looking at the ceiling. It takes a moment longer for him to realize he's looking at-

_himself_

-01, it's his voice that's yelling and the words have changed to,

**_“Its your fault, all your fault.”_ **

The fingers tighten, he feels lightheaded and the black that's been creeping along the side of his vision engulfs him and he wakes to a start, his fists clenching the bed sheet.

* * *

 

He doesn't dream of him for nearly a year after that.

A year later, a few days before August 15, his subconscious has taken him back to that classroom he hasn't seen (in reality) for nearly two years and part of him is grateful that this time he isn't met with 01 attempting to strangle him.

It's not just a glimpse on the corner of his eye this time even- they're both looking at each at other straight on from opposite ends of the classroom, with Shintaro near the windows facing outside of school and 01 at the other end.

There's something new this time, a cracked glass barrier that separates them. Even as Shintaro and 01 continue their stare off more cracks start to appear on the barrier.

If he wasn't staring so hard at 01 he wouldn't have noticed his gaze shift from him, to something behind behind him. He turns and everything freezes, his mind blanks because-

_Red muffler, black uniform, long hair, red hair clips, a **smile-**_

He shoots up in his bed, prompting Ene to worriedly ask if he had a nightmare (somewhere in the mess of his mind he thinks to ask why the computer is on when he remembers clearly having switched it off).

He waves off Ene with assurances and tells her he's going to wash up first when in fact it's just a cover up so he can go somewhere alone and think.

* * *

 

The next time he sees 01, it's the second last time, and its after Shintaro has died.

The dream starts out with him lying down on some cold smooth surface, eyes closed, trying to unscramble his brain and form a solid thought. His memories are coming in incoherent pieces.

- _Mekkakushi Dan, mission, heat haze, eyes, Momo, Ene, Konoha, black, gun, yelling, the gun is being pressed against his head, I'm in my room?, no, 01,have to stop, red scissors,no, I can join her, run, won't make it, gunshot, blade going into his neck, pain?, red, is that his blood?-_

He's sure a quarter of that was 01's memories then more memories he's very sure belongs to someone else-

- _fire, burning, pain, sister, mouth, red eyes, **invisible** , mom, stranger, knife, blood, mouth?, black, **fake** , dog, river, no, water, can't breathe, red eyes?, **lies** -_

Or several someone's it seems, and he thinks he knows who these memories belong to.

_-no, pain, mom?, NO!, pain, sticks, pain, **stop** , dad?, sinking, no air, red eyes, **look** , landslide, no, wife, save, must save, no, dead, red eyes?, what's happening, H_r_k_?, **dead**?, red eyes? Can't remember, stroke, help, dead?, truck, poles, **repeating** , truck, red, H_y_r_?-_

For someone who just got shot and _died_ , Shintaro is oddly calm as his memories start to piece themselves together along with a suddenly clear understanding of what happened, why its happened and what he has to do next thanks to an addition of memories that don't belong to him.

He's not sure when he actually wakes up- he just goes from black to seeing. The next thing he knows he's walking past a woman with red eyes, staring at him in shock. But then he feels the sensation of opening his eyes and is looking at 01 across that barrier. Ayano is behind him, no behind both of them. Two choices.

"I guess I died, I'm sorry."

01 one is giving him a pleading look. Then he screams when Shintaro _walks away_ from his side's Ayano. They cross each other and everything goes white, the sensation of something separating from him, before he's back at the classroom, this time facing where he previously stood. This time with one Ayano looking at him and not 01.

She just smiles at him while the curtains flutter in the wind.

He knows the name of what split from him now.

"Hey Ayano. I guess I've moved on now huh?"

Ayano gives him a surprised look by her smile returns, brighter than before and she slips of her muffler, hooking it around his neck on fluid motion.

"I'm glad."

She disappears with the flutter if the curtains, and Shintaro smiles for the first time in the long time as he flips a stray muffler end over his holder so it won't fall off.

As he turns around, he notices the infamous last paper crane Ayano folded for him, folded from the test paper with a perfect score that he had torn into pieces on the day of her death.

* * *

 

It's over now. Heat Haze days. Sure, he's dead (they all are) but at least everybody who was trapped was released. Kido's sister is out enjoying her life, Kano's mom is a successful lawyer, Hiyori is playing with her cat somewhere, his dad is off doing god knows what and most importantly, Ayano's enjoying her life out there, somewhere.

Although everybody who went on the mission had their existence erased are externally stuck in the remains of the Kagerou Days they severed from the real world. An eternity in a looping pocket dimension was worth it when you balanced out the pros and cons.

Though there's not much to do.

Which makes it all the more interesting when Azami herself appears in his corner of the dimension. It was normal if she went over to Mary (because they were related) or Kenjirou (since the guy was on talking terms anyway). Heck it would have been more normal if she went over to Kano's side.

He raises an eyebrow at the black clad figure, noticing that she has a hand mirror the size of her face in hand.

_Oh boy. I hope she's not here to smack my head with that._

It turns out that Azami is not here to beat him senseless with her large mirror but to show him something on it.

"An anomaly. The second you, created out of guilt, has been borne a consciousness."

Shintaro peers into the mirror, which is apparently not a mirror (after a while, they stopped asking about these things) and sees Ayano? She's walking down the street with-

 _01_.

Oh.

Bits of the conversation filter out of the mirror.

_"—type of name is Kisaragi Ichi? 1? Weird name to suit a weird person!"_

_"Says the person who wears a red muffler 12 months a year! I mean, have you—"_

Shintaro just sits there pondering the anomaly with Azami for a few hours, staring at the mirror.

That's the last time he sees his doppelgänger.


	2. The Inside Story

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A conversation between the black one living in the boy and the lonely one hiding in the girl.

 

" _Hey."_

_"…"_

_"Hey, are you listening?"_

_"I can hear you."_

_"Doesn't mean you're listening."_

_"…"_

_"Do you have a name?"_

_"…no."_

_"Why?"_

_"Same reason as you."_

* * *

 

"Hey Takane look at this! I found this in our language studies book! It looks weird! How do say this?"

"That's three in German idiot. Pass the book over so I look at it clearly Haruka."

"Here."

"It says here that three is 'Drei', before that is one and two which is 'Eins' and 'Zwei'."

"Takane you're so smart!"

"You're just an idiot Haruka."

* * *

 

" _Your boy seems to like my girl."_

_"Oh? How weird of you to start the conversation this time."_

_"…"_

_"Don't start brooding again now. Yeah, you're right. Haruka seems to like that girl of yours."_

_"Infatuated."_

_"I wouldn't go that far yet. It's more like that human thing, you know that thing called a 'crush'?"_

_"Its seems so."_

* * *

 

"Haruka, why does the final boss in the game look like me?"

"You don't like it Takane? I picked her from this set of drawings I was randomly last month."

"Lemme see that. Eh? There's two of me? And you too!"

"Aha, I got this sudden brain wave and drew them on the spot. The you I'm using for the game is called Headphone Actor. The other you is Ene. The white me is called Konoha. The black one is Kuroha!"

"Tell me more after after the cultural festival. Right now we have a games booth to set up."

"Right!"

* * *

 

" _Looks like we have names now."_

_"Yes. 'Kuroha', and 'Headphone Actor'."_

_"Headphone actor is too long. In just going to call you Actor. That fine with you?"_

_"Alright."_

_"Have you seen that 'Ene' in your part? I think I saw that 'Konoha' once."_

_"THe good things. We have… different roles."_

_"I know that. We're just the cache dump of stuff they don't want."_

* * *

 

_**You can be more** _

_"Who the hell are you?!"_

_**You can be more** _

_"Get out! You're not welcome here!"_

_**Become my host** _

_"G░▋ aw░▋ fr░▋me! Lea░▋ me alo░▋!"_

* * *

 

_"Kuroha?"_

_…_

_"Kuroha where are you?"_

_…_

_"You said you wouldn't leave me…"_


	3. A story of Twisted Words

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The pieces of the bad end. Outer Science based.

 

[memento mori]

Standing at the roof of that building, the red scarfed girl hoped.

She hoped that she would succeed this time.

She hoped it would end this time.

She hoped that Madder Red could move on and free them this time.

Maybe this time she wouldn't fail again.

But always, always, she will be sorry.

There is no route to success in where lives.

The star of this play has to be Shintaro.

So she has to do this.

Has to…

[Remember that you will die]

On August 15, Tateyama Ayano took a leap of faith.

Half an hour later the news reported her to have committed suicide by jumping off a building.

* * *

 

[sic transit gloria mundi]

It's that time of the year, and Shintaro knows it. He stared at the clock earlier.

But can you blame him for wanting to enjoy this blissful dream, desiring to never know the sensation of opening his eyes again?

Because Ayano's there. And they're talking, she's happy and he wants to live this dream forever-

"Even though it means you'll never see tomorrow again?"

Damned virus.

The voice is Ene's, the computer virus that had somehow downloaded into his computer. It was similar to an AI that endlessly bothered him.

Waking him up from his sweet dream was an example.

And also the final straw.

This time Shintaro would get rid of her.

Just press the delete button.

_(_Delete program?_)_

"Shintaro?"

_(_yes_)_

"Shin-"

_(_Program deleted_)_

There.

Done.

The program is gone.

…

It's just a program.

So why does he feel… saddened? Guilty?

It's just a program!

It's not murder!

**It's not!**

…

But it was company.

The only company he had.

She could even be called his friend.

One moment of anger and he destroys everything.

Again.

Just like with Ayano.

…

There's a pair of scissors in his bedside. It was big, sharp and had bright red handles. Red like Ayano's scarf.

It looks like Ene and Ayano can give him a long lecture in heaven.

Ah wait.

People who commit suicide go to hell don't they?

At least he deserves it.

[So passes away earthly glory]

_"On August 15, a boy committed suicide in his bedroom. His parents were overseas for work and his sister was out with friends at that time. It is suspected that the boy had succumbed to depression after a close friend of his committed suicide several years ago. The boy was found…_

* * *

 

[veritas vos liberabit]

Kano lies often.

Small lies slip easily into his facade, which is already a lie itself.

Big lies he does sometimes, because he lies so much it can pass of as another small thing.

Not so often, because a good liar knows just how much he twist truth without it breaking.

His biggest lie, though he does not remember afterwords, is for his most trusted friend.

It is one of the loops, and the mission is about to be executed.

Just before entering the daze, a whispered "it'll be fine" for Kido slipped from Kano's lips.

They stepped in the daze.

And then Kido was stabbed.

Kano rushes forth his mouth open in a scream of agony, because suddenly there's nothing but Kido, the blood and the need to catch her before she falls.

Then something cold and cylindrical is pressed into a forehead, halting him. With his hand still piercing Kido, the black reincarnation of Konoha pulls the trigger.

[The truth shall set you free.]

This time the truth shattered around Kano as he fell, blood coating his vision until it went black.

* * *

 

[sedit qui timuit ne non succederet.]

Hibiya was young and broken, forced to repeat a world where he watched one he cared for die over and over again without any hope of changing that outcome.

Konoha was there, always there, a steady pillar of comfort that could always be relied on.

Hibya leaned on that pillar.

Hibiya trusted Konoha the most.

Hibiya trusted the person who had smiled at him and gave him words of comforts just because they were friends.

Hibiya trusted him matter what.

So when the eldritch, black reincarnation of his friend advanced towards him, he did not move.

He could not trust himself to move.

Not even when Kano fell in spray of blood, at the same time Kido's body was tossed away.

He could not trust himself to be able to protect Mary.

And then Momo, lovely Momo who was so cheerful and bright, was suddenly gone and Hibiya still can't move because when he moves he's not sure who's side he's going to be on.

And then the black Konoha is picking him up, sneering and tossing him in front of-

[He who feared he would not succeed sat still.]

Blood sprayed the air.

* * *

 

[non est ad astra mollis e terris via]

His priority now is to protect Mary.

Mary has to be protected.

It's the only thing he has left to do.

He'd give his life to protect Mary.

He has nothing else left.

His sister lies in a puddle of blood, hand outstretched as she had reached for their fallen brother, his head half gone.

Their blood mix, because its just that big and the missing half of Kano's head is in bits around him.

Seto fights the urge to break down, vomit and cry.

Momo has been tossed aside. He avoids looking for her because He doesn't want to see her face streaked with tears, her face pale and her mangled body covered in blood.

Hibiya's is at least not there, and Seto is grateful for it. The sight of his unmoving, bloody and most importantly young form would be too much for Seto.

He hopes that whatever the black Konoha did to him, it was quick and painless, because he knows not to hope that he is alive. Hope will do him no good now.

Then the black Konoha is there, in front of him reaching out-

-and this is it. This is how he dies.

Seto is picked up by his neck, and he can feel the snakes nip at him. His feet are at least a few feet off the ground and he can see Mary screaming.

The fingers tighten slowly, as if the pain is being drawn out purposefully, as if he wants Seto to suffer as much as he can before dying.

Seto hates this Konoha lookalike even more by the passing second.

He wants it to end quickly, because he can see Mary and he doesn't want to see her crying like that anymore.

[There is no easy way from the earth to the stars.]

Seconds later he gets his wish as Mary gives another scream, masking the sound of Seto's neck snapping.


	4. A story of Gifts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pre-Series Shion story.

 

What Shion sees in the man she loves is her father.

Not her actual memories of her father- all she can recall are happy smiles. She remembers her father in the words of her mother.

“ _Your father is gentle person, but doggedly determined. He built the whole house as a suitor's gift.”_

The man Shion loves is also gentle, and also doggedly determined.

Shion finds the man alone and lost in her forest. She shows him back to the path tells him to leave. He returns the next day. She sends him away again. But he returns. He returns each day for two months. On the last day, he bears a gift.

His suitor's gift is treasure- stacks upon stacks or books. Most fantasy, just the type Shion likes. It is almost as if the man knows her, and she has only shared few words.

She knows that with this she has fallen in love.

 

* * *

 

_“Your father will leave us one day. His life is much shorter than ours.”_

Just like the dictations of her mother, Shion's beloved passes away too soon for her to let go. He passes before his time, like her father. She is spared the horror of her father's murder- her beloved died from an ailment there was no cure for.

As Shion grieves by the window of what is now the house of a widow, she thinks about her beloved's last gift.

She wonders how she will care for the child in her womb. She wonders who it will look more like- her or him. She wonders how much of a monster the child will be.

A monster like her and her mother.

Shion knows that she will love the child. Her mother taught her that the world was only afraid of the unknown- but the world could also love them. Love was what Shion was raises with, and love was what Shion would give her child.

What will she name her? Perhaps with the name of a book her beloved left her?

There is one book her beloved took great pains to gain. What he said was a lovely story of a misunderstood being, but was english. It was hard to find english books. But he had found it and given it to her.

She could use the book's title as a name if the child was a boy. But what if the child was a she? She looked down at the book.

 _Frankenstein's Monster  
By Mary Shelley_.

Shion decided that Mary would be a lovely name for the child if she was a girl.


	5. Summertime Letter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Summertime Record based fic.

Dear Miss Azami,

Takane and the others might get mad if they heard about me writing for you. They want to move on. But I am moving on. I'm just acknowledging our trials.

I got a notebook you know? No not that one. A new one. It's bigger. I redrew it all, from the end till the beginning. All our stories are written in here, with my drawing and your words.

I started with yours, since yours started first. I have two, and they're titled as Shinigami Record, The story of showing kindness or The story of staring with one's eyes, and Dead and Seek, The story where one's eyes become clear. I hope you don't mind. I think that you were a big part of our story, so I really wanted to dedicate at least a small part to you.

Then I got a small story for Miss Shion called Gunjou Rain, this story of a mother who wished for her child to remain safe forever, because she played a part in our relationship with Mary.

Then Mary's was next. Mary no Kakuu Sekai, A story that closes the eyes. And one for when she met Seto called Imagination Forest, The story about seeing eye-to-eye.

The I got the back stories of the rest, starting with the big three, Kido, Kano and Seto. Mekakushi Code, The story about hiding your eyes for Kido. Yobanashi Deceive, the story of deceiving ones eyes for Kano of course. Then Seto's was Shounen Brave, the story that steals your eyes.

Then I did some pairs; Ayano with Shintaro and Me with Takane's Toumei answer, the story where one averts ones eyes, and Yuukei Yesterday, the story of glaring eyes respectively. Ayano and Shintaro's story is about their bond before Ayano died I guess. Mine and Takane is about our friendship before the heat haze days.

Then I did this one just for Ayano called Ayano no Koufuku Riron, A story that rises to the eyes. It's all about her, the first member of the Dan.

Since I knew Takane the most I did three more on her. Headphone Actor, The story about doubting your eyes, a sort of prequel to when she became Ene. Ene's Cyber Journey,The story about awakening your eyes, for when she was Ene. One more, for the 'bad end', Jinzou Enemy, The story about turning away your eyes. I was uncomfortable with the idea of this at first but I figured I needed to let it out.

Then one on Momo, Kisaragi Attention, The story where all eyes are on you. You know Shintaro's sister? The idol? Well she's not an idol anymore now. She decided to focus on her studies for now.

This one was the hardest. Another pair story, Hibiya and Hiyori's Kagerou Days, The story that will overwhelm your eyes. It's more on Hibiya's point of view because I don't know much about Hiyori. I haven't spoken to her. I have it that title because Hibiya's 'tragedy' was the one that really set us off on our mission you know? But I felt really sad when I was writing this because what happened to Hibiya was probably the worst, since he could remember it.

To go with Hibiya's story, I did one on our… well Konoha's meeting with him. Its called Konoha no Sekai no Jijou, The story about opening his eyes. My thought is at that time we were separate people, so its using his name instead of mine. It's from Konoha's point of view during Hibiya's repeating world.

After all these backstories and prologues I finally wrote the 'opening' to our story. Children Record,The story of children's faces. It's about the Mekkakushi Dan, as one group and not as individuals. That point where all our 'fates' crossed. And well, a lot of foreshadowing.

After that was Momo getting Hibiya to open up to her I guess, and his initiation to the Dan. I called it Otsukimi Recital, A story that brightens the eyes, because Momo brought back the light to Hibiya's eyes after Hiyori.

Lost Time Memory, A story of repeating regret, was about Shintaro as he overcame his regret. Well you probably know more about than me. He said he saw you then, and his 'bad end'. Apparently he has no idea how to explain what was going on then.

Speaking about bad ends, the second last story was dedicated to it, our failures. Outer Science, the story of eyes saying as much as the mouth. The bad end, that dark Konoha and Mary resetting time. I think it was because Shintaro didn't join us. His bad end self committed suicide right?

The last story, the ending and our closure. Summertime Record, A stunning story, the Story of the Spinning Eyes. About our acceptance towards the end, our initial changes, how we helped each other get by the aftermath and how we chose to part ways.

Shintaro's planning to make a couple of songs based on this, since he's actually an awesome secret composer. Takane will be helping him since he'll be mostly using his computer and over the course of her time as Ene she became a computer genius. Momo will be singing them, because even when her captivation was gone it turns out she's actually really good at singing. I agreed to draw for the PV.

Well I'll close of this letter for now, I'll send you another one soon. Mary says she might write one by the way. I'll always remember, and we'll all meet again soon.

Sincerely,

Haruka Kokonose.


	6. A story of numbers

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Commemorating 15 August 2015.  
> 0 is a taboo, 9 is their strength and 15 is a revolution.

0 is Tateyama Ayano's rank and title.

‘Member Zero’ is a cool name she yells when she plays with her siblings. It is a title she uses to claim herself as the eldest and the leader. As the greatest superhero.

The red tails of her scarf are what her siblings will see, along with the fall of her hair and the flat of her back. Her imaginary enemies will see bravery in hazel eyes and joy in a smile that splits her face.

Tears, broken smiles and the fall of a red scarf were things her siblings were never supposed to see.

August 15 and 0 becomes taboo.

* * *

 

9 are their numbers, their full strength. It begins at one with Kido and ends at nine with Konoha.

Kido is named on the same day Seto and Kano are named 2 and 3. They are given this title in a small room with evening light fighting past the blinds. They are given this title by [ _she who was most precious to them_ ] therefore the title is [ _that which is most treasured_ ]. If it came down to it, they would fight tooth and and nail for their right as a member of Mekakushi Dan.

Kozakura Mary is unofficial christened as member four when Seto Kousuke lays eyes on the lonely figure of girl in a forest. She was lonely, therefore Seto who hated loneliness chose the path that would lead to the end of her loneliness. She would be his friend, and therefore she would be a member of Mekakushi Dan because to Seto these things were synonymous. Mary is officially christened, by scarf for Ayano had no sword, in the living room of the Tateyama household.

Member five is an accident, really. Through Kido's embarrassing slip, Mekakushi Dan welcomed and idol who just so happened to fulfil the requirements of being a member to a T. Kisaragi Momo is an official member by virtue of accidentally entering the secret headquarters, but fully accepted once her abilities come to light.

An [ _existence that was not close enough to be human_ ] and one disgruntled boy become members six and seven. Ene is only 6 because she claims the official title while one poor Kisaragi Shintaro is unconscious. Being a program, Kido makes do with formal words and a quick knighting on the phone Ene inhabits. Shintaro would have been six if he had been awake, since they had unofficially claimed him during the terrorist attack, but he settled for seven. Through much attempted refusal and panic, Shintaro was made number seven.

One suffering boy and [ _a most unusual being_ ] entered this group of unlikely companions as their final members. Amamiya Hibiya is found dazed and broken. He was not supposed to wake up after being hit by a truck but his body retained its functions while the person he intended to save was lost. His body may have survived but his mind did not come back with it.

Konoha is empty, disturbingly empty. He looks upon his new companions with blank acknowledgement, but they have seen their fair share of odd things so they don't mind. His ability to render concrete walls useless is just a slight disturbance. Very slight, they will assure you.

Nine is their strength, for that's all they have.

* * *

 

The fifteenth of august is a date where a most unusual event occurs.

One a year on this day, two people die. Perhaps that is not unusual, but the following is what makes it so.

Of the two, one will come back.

It would be more interesting if you were to note that the ones who come back do not come back exactly as they were. If you were capable of looking to a specific depth of their soul, a certain slithering creature would be found assimilating with the person. This fascinating creature will cause the appearance of rather unusual abilities in the person they reside in.

15 was meant to be an anomaly based on this phenomenon. But 15 us when a group of nine stand up to fate and time and pain to fight for what they have lost and what they may gain. They stand united, and despite a thousand failures they cannot remember, there is one 15th of August where they succeed and that is all that matters.

15 is a _revolution._


End file.
